Electrode for use in a plasma assisted chemical etching process

Abstract: The electrode (11) of the present invention is used in a Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching process and comprises an inner member (47) surrounded by an outer member (45) defining a gap (77) therebetween such that a gas can flow therethrough. In the preferred embodiment, the inner member (47) and the concentric outer member (45) are both cylindrical in shape, therefore, the gap (77) has an annular configuration. A vertical ducting system is bored within the inner member (47) and directly or indirectly intersects the annular gap (77).

Description: BACKGROUD OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching apparatus using an electrode having an inner member surrounded by an outer member such that an annular gap is formed therebetween. 2. Discussion The computer and electronic device industries have become increasing competitive thereby necessitating that integrated circuits, used within these devices, be lower in cost and of higher quality. In particular, silicon wafer substrates, upon which the integrated circuitry is processed, must also be of lower cost and higher quality. Generally, the circuitry is formed on a surface of the substrate through a photolithographic process. It is highly desirable to control the thickness of the silicon layer of a Silicon On Insulator (SOI) substrate, for example, or to control the total thickness variation (TTV) of a silicon substrate since a photolithographic tool must be refocused in each field to match the substrate's varying surface height. This is often a time-consuming and costly process which is directly attributable to the poor thickness control of a conventional mechanically polished wafer substrate. Recently a Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching (PACE) process has been used to etch or "figure" the upper surface of the substrate after the prior rough mechanical cutting and polishing steps. The PACE process uses an electrode which is positioned above the silicon wafer substrate. Radio frequency (RF) power is fed to the electrode and through a positioning table supporting the wafer. A gas then flows through the electrode where it is ionized and generates a chemically reactive plasma species which is then discharged onto the top surface of the wafer. This discharge chemically figures the surface of the wafer to a predetermined depth. Conventionally, a porous silicon carbide electrode is used in this PACE process. These electrodes have many open cell pockets therein such that the gas can pass completely through the electrode. While these porous silicon carbide electrodes create a good quality etched profile or "footprint" in the substrate, the electrode erodes relatively quickly and requires frequent replacement. Consequently, there is frequent down time for the PACE equipment which can be costly. Furthermore, particulates often erode off of the silicon carbide electrodes which can contaminate the surface of the wafer. Another electrode which has been experimentally used in the past is known as a "showerhead" design. The showerhead design is used with solid non-porous electrodes which may be made from stainless steel or other metal. Therefore, many small diameter vertical holes must be drilled through the face of the electrode to allow passage of the inert gas. In order to prevent a secondary discharge from occurring within these holes (versus between the electrode and the substrate), they must have a diameter smaller than approximately 0.25 mm (0.010 inches) for the operating conditions commonly used. Furthermore, many of these holes are required in the electrode in order to replicate the desirable figuring footprint. Accordingly, it is very costly and difficult to drill these small holes through the thick electrode material. Therefore, while the silicon carbide and showerhead electrode designs illustrate improvements in the art, the cost and processing problems still exist. FR-A-2264891 describes a high intensity ionic bombardment reactor for thermochemical treatment processes. The reactor comprises a cylindrical metal rod at cathodic potential insulatedly disposed on the surface of the reactor and operable to support the object to be treated, a tube insulatedly disposed on the reactor surface coaxially with and surrounding the rod, and a reactor body maintained at anodic potential. Ducts are provided in the cathode rod for supplying gas to the annular space between the cathode rod and the coaxial tube. The present invention provides an apparatus for etching a substrate by means of a plasma assisted chemical etch, the apparatus including a positioning table for receiving the substrate, an electrode positioned above the table, and electrical connection means connected to said electrode and said positioning table for creating a plasma discharge therebetween, characterized in that said electrode comprises: an outer member having an inside surface defining a vertically oriented cavity extending from a bottom surface to a top surface of the outer member, said cavity having a cylindrical lower portion extending upwardly from said bottom surface and an outwardly stepped upper portion adjacent said top surface; an inner member having a cylindrical lower portion extending upwardly from a lower surface of said inner member, said lower portion nesting inside said cylindrical lower portion of said cavity and defining therebetween an annular gap extending upwardly from said bottom surfaces, said inner member also having an outwardly stepped upper portion that forms an interference press fit with said outwardly stepped upper portion of said cavity, thereby joining said inner member to said outer member and enclosing the top of the annular gap; and duct means provided in said inner member for supplying a gas to create said plasma discharge into said annular gap, whereby said gas flows through said annular gap onto said substrate. description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a first preferred embodiment of the present invention electrode in relation to a Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching reactor; FIG. 2 is a bottom elevation view of the present invention electrode, taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the present invention electrode, taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of an etched footprint in a silicon wafer substrate made by the present invention electrode of FIGS. 1-3; FIG. 5 is a top elevation view showing an inner member of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention electrode used in combination with the outer member and Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching reactor of FIGS. 1-3; FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view shoving the inner member of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention electrode from FIG. 5; and FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention electrode, similar to FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In accordance with the present invention, the preferred embodiment of an electrode 11 can be used in a Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching (PACE) process. The equipment required to run the PACE process can best be observed in FIG. 1. A Precision Materials PACE Reactor 13 comprises an electrode supporting structure 15 mounted above a computer controlled X-Y positioning table 17, both of which are located within an enclosed structure 19. A silicon wafer substrate 25 is fastened upon the top of positioning table 17. Such a substrate 25 may be a Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) substrate such as ACUTHIN wafer which is a trademark of Hughes Danbury optical Systems, Inc. Electrode supporting structure 15 is retained within enclosed structure 19 through an upper mounting fixture 27 and a height and tilt adjustment mechanism 29. Furthermore, electrode supporting structure 15 is sealed within upper fixture 27 by a set of bellows 31 juxtapositioned therearound. An aluminum holder 33 is fastened to the bottom of electrode supporting structure 15 and serves to retain electrode 11. Furthermore, a vacuum pump 34 pulls a relatively mild vacuum, in the range of 133 to 1330 Pa (1 to 10 Torr), within structure 19. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a substantially horizontal member, known as a chimney 35, is mounted adjacent to the bottom of electrode 11. Chimney 35 is made from a fused silica material and has a vertical circular edge 37 which defines a centrally located aperture 39 therein; such a chimney is known to one skilled in the art. circular edge 37 acts to control the shape of a plasma discharge 43 which flows from electrode 11. Furthermore, chimney 35 snugly fits against the bottom surface of electrode 11 thereby preventing a secondary discharge. A gas source 41 is connected to electrode 11 and contains a pressurized inert gas such as sulphur hexaflouride. Radio frequency (RF) power is directly coupled to electrode 11 and substrate 25 through positive RF wire 60 and negative RF wire 61. This creates an ionized chemically reactive fluorine species from the inert gas which then forms plasma discharge 43 between electrode 11 and substrate 25. Therefore, a top surface 48 of substrate 25 is in contact with plasma discharge 43 and is subject to a low energy ionic flux of less than 10eV. Referring to FIGS, 2 and 3, the present invention electrode 11 is comprised of an outer member 45 which concentrically surrounds an inner member 47. Outer member 45 has a cylindrical outside surface 49 bordered by a flat top surface 51 and a flat bottom surface 53. Outer member 45 further has an inside surface 55 which is comprised of a lower portion 57 and an upper outwardly stepped portion 59, both of which are cylindrically shaped. Both portions 57 and 59 of inside surface 55 define a cavity 61 therein. Cavity 61 vertically extends from top surface 51 to bottom surface 53. Moreover, outside surface 49 of outer member 45 has an upper inwardly stepped portion 63 which fits within a cup-shaped portion 65 of holding device 33 by an interference press fit. Inner member 47 has an outside surface 67. Outside surface 67 is comprised of a lower portion 69 which is cylindrically-shaped and an upper outwardly stepped portion 71 which is also cylindrically-shaped. Inner member 47 is further bordered by a flat top surface 73 and a flat bottom surface 75. Top surface 73 and bottom surface 75 of inner member 47 are substantially coplanar with top surface 51 and bottom surface 53 of outer member 45. Lower portion 69 of the inner member's outside surface 67 is spatially juxtapositioned inward from lower portion 57 of the outer member's inside surface 55 thereby defining an annular gap 77 therebetween. Moreover, upper outwardly stepped portion 71 of inner member 47 is compressibly located within outwardly stepped portion 59 of outer member 45 by an interference press fit. This serves to retain inner member 47 to outer member 45. Both outer member 45 and inner member 47 are made from 99.9% pure magnesium which can be procured from Spectralite Corporation of Madison, Illinois. In the first preferred embodiment, a vertically oriented duct 79 is drilled centrally within inner member 47. Duct 79 intersects a plurality of passages 51 drilled transversely through inner member 47. Passages 81 are located approximately midway between upper surface 73 and bottom surface 75 of inner member 47. Furthermore, passages 81 extend radially outward from duct 79 and intersect with annular gap 77. Annular gap 77 should be as large as possible without causing secondary discharge therewithin, it has been found that a 25 to 127 µm (0.0010 to 0.0050 inch) gap is adequate. Thus, the inert gas can flow down duct 79, through passages 81 and down annular gap 77. Accordingly, the aforementioned conduit system can be cost effectively produced within a solid non-porous electrode 11. Plasma discharge 43 figures or etches a footprint 83 within top surface 48 of substrate 25. The figuring strategy uses a close overlap of successive sweeps of plasma discharge 43 thereby creating an overlapping ripple pattern to remove a layer of silicon material from top surface 48 of substrate 25. The depth of footprint 83 can be controlled by changing the velocity of the positioning table's movement under electrode 11. The gas flow rates and RF power have been found to be similar to that used with the prior art electrodes. FIG. 4 illustrates a typical figuring footprint created by the present invention electrode 11. As is known to one skilled in the art, the footprint 83 displayed in this graph is of good quality and is substantially similar to that measured by using the prior art porous silicon carbide electrode. An inner member 181 of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention PACE electrode is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Inner member 181 has an outside surface 183 defined by a lower portion 185 and an upper outwardly stepped portion 187. Inner member 181 is press fit with outer member 45 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the first embodiment. However, inner member 181 has a unique gas ducting system. A plurality of outwardly radiating grooves 201 are cut within a top surface 189 of inner member 181. These grooves 201 intersect each other at a center point 203. Furthermore, a conduit 205 is drilled downward in each groove 201 such that each conduit 205 intersects annular gap 77 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). This method prevents burrs from being created by drilling passage 81 (see FIG. 3) within outside surface 67 (see FIG. 3) of the first preferred embodiment inner member 47; any such burrs may hinder the fit of the members. A third embodiment of the present invention electrode 85 is shown in FIG. 7. This electrode 85 has an inner member 87, an outer member 88, a peripheral member 89 and two annular gaps. Inner member 87 has an outside surface 90 bordered by a top surface 91 and a bottom surface 93. Outside surface 90 of inner member 87 has a lower portion 95 and an upper outwardly stepped portion 97, both of which are cylindrically-shaped. Outer member 88 has an outside surface 101, a flat top surface 103 and a flat bottom surface 105. Outside surface 101 is comprised of a cylindrical lower portion 107 and a cylindrical upper outwardly stepped portion 109. Outer member 88 further has an inside surface 111 comprised of a lower portion 113 and an upper outwardly stepped portion 115, both of which are cylindrically-shaped and define a vertically oriented cavity 117 therein. Upper outwardly stepped portion 97 of inner member 91 snugly fits within upper outwardly stepped portion 115 of outer member 88. Lower portion 95 of inner member 87 and lower portion 113 of outer member 88 define a first annular gap 119 therebetween. Peripheral member 89 concentrically surrounds outer member 88. Peripheral member 89 is comprised of a cylindrically-shaped outside surface 123 having an upper inwardly stepped portion 125 thereupon. Furthermore, upper inwardly stepped portion 125 fits within a cup-shaped portion 126 of a holding device 127 by an interference press fit. Also, peripheral member 89 is comprised of a flat top surface 129, a flat bottom surface 131 and an inside surface 133. Inside surface 133 forms a vertically oriented cavity 135 therein and has a cylindrically-shaped lower portion 137 and a cylindrically-shaped upper outwardly stepped portion 139. Upper outwardly stepped portion 109 of the outer member's outside surface 101 fits tightly within upper outwardly stepped portion 139 of the peripheral member's inside surface 133. Top surfaces 91, 103 and 129 are substantially coplanar. Similarly, bottom surfaces 93, 105 and 131 are also substantially coplanar. Moreover, lower portion 107 of the outer member's outside surface 101 and lower portion 137 of the peripheral member's inside surface 133 define a second annular gap 141 therebetween. The ducting system of either the first or second preferred embodiments can be used in combination with this third embodiment. Using the first ducting construction, a vertical duct 143 is centrally drilled within inner member 87 and intersects a plurality of transversely oriented passages 145. Passages 145 radially extend outward from duct 143 and intersect first annular gap 119. Outer member 88 similarly has a plurality of passages 147 cut transversely therethrough. Passages 147 connect first annular gap 119 with second annular gap 141. Therefore, the gas can flow from source 41 (see FIG. 1) through duct 143, through passages 145 and 147, and can exit from annular gaps 119 and 141. Alternatively, the second ducting pattern can be used such that grooves (not shown) and conduits (not shown) may be cut within top surfaces 91 and 103 of inner and outer members, respectively 87 and 88. In this scenario, it is helpful to have a circular groove (not shown) cut in top surface 103 of outer member 88 adjacent to inside surface 111. This circular groove intersects with outwardly radiating grooves 201 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) so that inner and outer members , 87 and 88 respectively, do not have to be circumferentially alligned with one another. It would be obvious to one skilled in the art that the number of concentric annular gaps and coincident electrode members may be multiplied infinitely. While various embodiments of the present invention electrode for use in a Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching process have been disclosed, it will be appreciated that various modificatons may be made without departing from the present invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims: An apparatus for etching a substrate (25) by means of a plasma assisted chemical etch, the apparatus including a positioning table (17) for receiving the substrate (25), an electrode (11,85) positioned above the table (17), and electrical connection means (60,62) connected to said electrode (11,85) and said positioning table (17) for creating a plasma discharge therebetween, characterized in that said electrode (11,85) comprises: an outer member (45,88) having an inside surface (57,111) defining a vertically oriented cavity extending from a bottom surface (53,105) to a top surface (51,103) of the outer member (45,88), said cavity having a cylindrical lower portion extending upwardly from said bottom surface (53,105) and an outwardly stepped upper portion adjacent said top surface (51,103); an inner member (47,87,181) having a cylindrical lower portion (69,95) extending upwardly from a bottom surface (75,93) of said inner member (47,87,181), said lower portion (69,95) nesting inside said cylindrical lower portion of said cavity and defining therebetween an annular gap (77,119) extending upwardly from said bottom surfaces (53,75,93,105), said inner member (47,87,181) also having an outwardly stepped upper portion (71,97) that forms an interference press fit with said outwardly stepped upper portion of said cavity, thereby joining said inner member (47,87,181) to said outer member (45,88) and enclosing the top of the annular gap (77,119); and duct means (79, 81, 143, 145, 205) provided in said inner member (47,87,181) for supplying a gas to create said plasma discharge into said annular gap (77,119), whereby said gas flows through said annular gap (77,199) onto said substrate (25). An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an annular chimney (35) having a circular aperture concentric with said annular gap (77,119) for confining said plasma discharge formed in said gas below said annular gap (77,119). An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said duct means include a vertically extending bore (79,143) and connecting, radially extending bores (81,145). An apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said duct means comprise: a plurality of centrally intersecting radial grooves (201) on the top surface (189) of the inner member (181); and downwardly extending conduits (205) connecting each said groove 201) to the annular gap (77,199). An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said inner member (47,87,181) and said outer member (45,88) are made from magnesium. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said outer member (88) has an outer surface (101) having a cylindrical lower portion (107) extending upwardly from said bottom surface (105), said apparatus further comprising: a peripheral member (89) having a flat bottom surface (131) and an inside surface (133) forming a vertically oriented cavity (135) therein, said cavity having a cylindrical lower portion (137) in which said cylindrical lower portion (107) of said outer member (88) is received to define a second annular gap (141) therebetween extending upwardly from said bottom surfaces (105,131); and at least one passageway (145, 147) provided in said outer member (88) to enable said gas for creating a plasma discharge to flow from said first annular gap (119) into said second annular gap (141).

Inventors: STEINBERG GEORGE, STEINBERG, GEORGE
Applicants: IPEC PRECISION INC, IPEC PRECISION, INC.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: H01J37
IPC codes: H01J27, H01L21, C23F4, H01J37